It took Austin Hill and Hattori Racing Enterprises 14 events to visit victory lane in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in 2021, but it appears that the driver and team have hit their stride, winning back-to-back events in the series after capturing the victory in Saturday’s United Rentals 176 at Watkins Glen International.
However, the United Rentals 176 became the United Rentals 150, as multiple lightning strikes within an eight-mile radius of the track along with the scheduling of the NASCAR Xfinity Series event, forced the sanctioning body to shorten the series’ regular season finale, 11 laps short of the finish.
John Hunter Nemechek – the regular season champion — finished in the runner-up position, with Sheldon Creed, Todd Gilliland and Parker Kligerman rounding out the top-five. Zane Smith, Tyler Ankrum, Paul Menard, Sam Mayer and Carson Hocevar rounded out the top-10.
Sheldon Creed (No. 2), John Hunter Nemechek (No. 4), Austin Hill (No. 16), Chandler Smith (No. 19), Zane Smith (No. 21), Todd Gilliland (No. 38), Carson Hocevar (No. 42), Stewart Friesen (No. 52), Matt Crafton (No. 88) and Ben Rhodes (No. 99) will make up the 10-driver field for the 2021 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Playoffs.
Chandler Smith, Ben Rhodes, Christian Eckes, Tate Fogleman, Bobby Reuse, Derek Kraus, Matt Crafton and Tyler Ankrum were just some of the driver’s who experienced on-track issues throughout the day, in what was a wild event in the opening stages.
Video: Highlights From Truck Series Race at Watkins Glen (Before Lightning)
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series debuts for Chad Chastain, Taylor Gray and Will Rodgers resulted in 35th, 36th, and 40th-place finishes, respectively, as all three suffered some sort of issue throughout the event, with Chastain drawing the first caution of the event for contact with the tire barrier in turn one.
The first round of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Playoffs will begin August 20th at World Wide Technology Raceway, continuing at Darlington Raceway on September 5, and September 16 at Bristol Motor Speedway.
